Friends Or Allies?
by Ingradera
Summary: Alex and friends are sent to live with the Avengers for an unknown period of time. It was meant to only be for protection, but will they leave with new friends? New allies? And will it make them closer as a group? Will they learn more about each of the members, or will some secrets remain secrets? Sequel to Nightmares Bring Surprises.
1. The One Where They Enter The Tower

**Disclaimer: I own neither the Avengers or Alex Rider or anything else you recognise here. This will be true for the entirety of this work, so I won't be posting another disclaimer on this fic.**

**A/N: So this is the very belated sequel to **Nightmares Bring Surprises **and I don't really know where I want this to go, other than the fact Loki will make an appearance somewhere.**

**Anyway onto the fic, I hope you like it, so please read and review.**

All eyes were glued to his face and so they didn't miss his frown as he allowed the flaps to fall open.

"What's in it, Al?" Ben was the one who asked him what everyone was thinking.

The first item to be brought out of the box was a thick envelope and a file with a picture clipped to the front. His hands shook so much that the documents fell out, ignored as they fell to the floor as he moved to cradle his injured ribs.

"Hey!" The spy shouted while rushing to crouch in front of him, "You alright there?"

Hazel eyes with hidden pain looked up at his honorary brother with a hint of excitement, "I'm fine, promise. Check out what '6 sent us will you? This might actually be fun for once."

Raising an eyebrow, he motioned behind him for someone from his old unit to check it. Snake silently made his way over to their shared temporary charge, needing to reassure himself that he actually was as okay as he said. Wolf following him so that he could check out the box and its contents.

"Anyone ever heard of a group called 'The Avengers'?" He queried as he scanned through the many documents.

Looking around the others, Eagle looked confused at their blank looks before breaking out a grin, "You haven't?"

His commander's eyes flitted across the faces before him, "Well according to this we are going to be spending an undefined period of time with them in two months."

**\/\/\**

"Why are we the ones being stuck on babysitting duty?" The engineer complained, pouting.

Turning his infamous glare towards the one they all knew constantly needed babysitting, Fury deadpanned, "Because, Stark, I owed a friend a favour. Regardless of that through, one of their number is in need of a level of protection that not many can supply."

"Who's the subject we are to be protecting and how many will be in the party?" Natasha cut in before Tony could complain any more.

After scanning the room Fury told them, "There will be six in the party and the subject is Alex Rider."

It was then that Bruce's nervous gaze began to flick around and only because of that did he notice how both Natasha and Clint reacted to the name, even if the reaction was only visible for a fraction of a second. "I take it that you two know him?"

All eyes followed his gaze until they landed on the assassins, "I only know what Nat had told me," Clint shrugged.

"And I only know what an old friend of mine told me and many others rumours that seem to follow him," She turned towards the Director, "I'm going to say that you can't tell us anything about him?"

Eyes swivelled back to Fury and Bruce found himself unable to quiet the voice in his head that drew forwards the parallels between the conversation and a tennis match.

"You would be right."

"Then I will tell you what I have clearance to say."

**-Time Laps-**

Apprehension laid heavily in the air as the ragtag group stood staring up at the imposing tower. Though they had previously felt some degree of excitement towards meeting the now almost globally known heroes, they were only just beginning to realise that thinks may not be as easy as they thought. Yassen had told them that he had had run ins with various members which at first had reassured them, now made the whole experience worse.

"As nice as the view may be, it may not be wise to keep the kid standing around for longer than strictly necessary," a voice coming from behind them, breaking through their individual thoughts.

Turning –some moving faster and more graceful than others- they spotted a blonde man, built much like the soldiers with the posture to match, making them believe that he was or had been part of the army. Despite the fact that his words may have come across as rude, his warm and pleasant smile took away all of the bite.

Alex still cursed the man regardless while Ben, Yassen and Snake began fussing over him, "I'm fine, just back off!" He ended up shouting when his first statement was ignored and the attention was becoming too much. Due to his volume many pedestrians turned to send him dirty looks, which were soon turned sympathetic upon noticing his extensive injuries. Though he tried and succeeded to hide how the shouting had jostles his almost healed ribs.

While the majority of his men were dealing with the teenage spy despite his irritation, Wolf stepped around them to address the blonde, "We are looking for the Avengers and we were told that we could find them here. Any chance you know if that's accurate?"

A measured smile spread across his face while his eyes remained cautious, "I would, yes. I take it that you are the ones we are to be expecting?" After realisation hit he was given a confirming nod and they showed each other ID just to ensure there was no misunderstandings before he lead the way inside. "If you will follow me I'll take you to the others," as they walked he made sure that he could keep a careful eye on Alex, "By the way, I'm Steve Rogers," he introduced himself properly without the identification, but just as an act of politeness. Wolf moved to give his own name in return, but the others stopped him as they told him that it would be easier for them to tell them all together instead of repeating it many times over.

Slowly they made their way over to the elevator and nobody dared to comment on it when Cub leaned heavily against the wall. As the doors came close his hand fell away from the crutch in favour of gently and clumsily grabbed Ben's hand. Wolf had to make himself look away as he was reminded of when they were leaving St Dominic's.

"Nobody's going to hurt you here, no one is going to get you, Al, nothing is going to happen," Fox whispered in the boy's ear as the others pretended that they couldn't hear.

Not wanting to intrude Steve looked away and spoke to the ceiling, "JARVIS? Could you take us up to the communal floor and call in the other Avengers, please?"

"Of course, sir," came a robotic voice.

"Well that's not at all freaky," Eagle muttered to himself, though the rest of the group clearly supported his opinion.

A slightly uncomfortable silence fell around the group as they were unsure on how they should proceed while also pondering what was going to occur. It was the youngest of their number that was thinking the most until the point where he had his plan set out as the moving death trap came to a halt none too soon.

The doors began to open just as he quickly pulled his hand back so that it was gripping his crutch and was holding his weight once more. Hobbling along behind everyone gave him a chance to take in the room while putting the final pieced of the plan in place.

It seemed that their arrival was a large enough even that it warranted the entirety of the Avengers being present. That was a useful thought as it saved him from going through his act twice.

Plastering a large fake smile on his face he slowly made his way to the front of the group, acting like the carefree teenage that he should be. As he passed his old teammates, he tried to ignore the confusion that would obviously be showing on their faces.

"Hi," he said in way of greeting the fake grin growing even more, "Oh my god, you are the actual real life Avengers! My friends are never going to believe this. Oh my goodness, hi. Wow, I honestly can't believe that I'm actually here to meet you all." From the corner of his eye he watched how the redhead frowned ever so slightly at his words and made a mental note to be careful around her. "Hi, umm I'm Ben Daniels. Hi." This time his smile was smaller and more awkward, as though he had just realised how embarrassing the fangirl approach had been.

**A/N: So that's it. Thoughts? Please constructive criticism is encouraged, and also if you have any parings you ship and want them to make an appearance then let me know because I'm struggling slightly to work out what I want in at the moment. It's not my fault I ship them all and want them all in there.**

**Thank you for your time, I hope you enjoyed.**


	2. The One Where They Get To Know Everyone

"_Hi," he said as way of greeting, the fake grin only growing. "Oh my god, you are the actual real life Avengers! My friends are never going to believe this. Oh my god, hi. Wow, I can't believe I really get to met you all," He saw how the redhead frowned ever so slightly, and he made a mental note to be careful around her, "Hi, umm I'm Ben Daniels. Hi!" He ended with a smaller more awkward smile, as though he had just realised how embarrassing the fangirl approached had been._

Brown eyes shyly took in not only the strangers that he knew nothing about, but also those he did know, whether they trusted him or not. He only allowed himself the briefest glimpse of each person before limping back towards Ben, who he gazed up at with a look filled with brotherly affection, "And this here is my brother and my hero: Alex Rider."

"Brother?" The redhead asked suspiciously.

Alex turned to her with a barley restrained twinkle in his otherwise dimmed eyes, he just knew that he was going to like her. That or hate her. "In everything but blood," He skilfully raised an eyebrow as he looked between her, the short blonde by her side and Yassen, "But... You'd know all about that wouldn't you?"

Tony looked as if all his Christmases had come at once, "What-"

Fortunately, he was unable to get anything else out before Clint added his own two cents, "What happened to you, kid?" He asked with just the smallest slither of concern sliding into his tone.

Only the smallest hint of tension showed in the teen's body before it slowly eased away as his head slipped down to watch as his left hand flex around the crutch, "There were these bat shit scary men and they were trying to get to my brother –get to Alex. Luckily for him they were unable to find him, so, unluckily for me; they decided that it would still be worthwhile if they took me instead. This was just the unfortunate by product of that decision."

Identical looks of shock pasted themselves on both Tony's and Steve's faces. Natasha and Clint managed to stay mostly stoic, as they did both wince slightly in sympathy. Somehow Bruce was the only one to stay completely impassive a feet which would have equally impressed and worried his team if they were able to see it.

"Well this is awkward," Snake said coughing to cover his own embarrassment and guilt.

Tony's attention moved straight to him, "I might just like you. Maybe. I haven't decided yet, so don't hold your breath, Red." Tony commented, making the medic wonder if he would ever go anywhere where people wouldn't comment on his ginger hair. "Well anyway I think inductions are in order. Me first then! I'm Tony Stark. As if you didn't already know that, I know, but if you somehow didn't then you may better know me as Iron Man!

"Now these obviously less important _and_ recognisable people are: Capsicle, Katniss, Rus-" he halted suddenly as his brown eyes fell on the assassin in question, "Urm... Black Widow and my Brucie, big guy, sex-on-legs, Dr. Sexy or whatever else I may think of." He carried on; his tone more amused once spotting the soft blush covering the doctor's cheeks. "And of course you've met JARVIS."

There was only a beat of silence before Wolf stepped forward and began to introduce his side of the room, deciding also to just for once he would willingly go along with what Alex had already started to plot out. Much like their American reflections, he introduced his unit by their code names, including Cub, though here he paused slightly to explain why a teen had a SAS codename. Yassen is introduced by his nickname given by John Rider: Cossack.

Tony took a step closer, while he spread his arms wide in greeting, his signature grin plastered on his face, "well now that the necessary pleasantries are thankfully out of the way, we can get down to business. Where do you want to stay? You can either all have your own floor, with everything you could ever want and more included, or you can share a floor, which will still have enough room for you all to live comfortably."

It was easy enough for everyone to see the barely restrained excitement that danced throughout Alex's very being. Though it filled his unit with a certain degree of warmth, -which was even transferred across to the Avengers- they unfortunately were aware of how dangerous it would be to give him his own way on this occasion.

Because of this, Wold spoke up just as Cub opened his mouth, saying, "It would make sense if we all stayed together, for obvious reasons of course."

Only a minimum amount of words were then shared before Steve kindly offered to direct them towards their floor, with Tony trailing along next to him, keeping the journey animated with the sound of his childlike chatter. Though they were unnoticed as a whole –even when they all climbed into Stark's strangely spacey privet lift- the assassins also followed, flanking the elder Russian as they did so. Bruce was the only one to remain where he was, trying to process the many thoughts that were flitting through his mind.

It seemed natural to travel by lift due to Alex's crutches, thought the Americans paid this no regard as they were used to Tony's dislike of stairs. Thought they all found themselves becoming more and more irritated with the genius' continual chatter, which nobody could work out how to stop. When the doors finally did slid open, Alex was the first to exit and took the chance to attempt to run away, his emotions far too near the surface for his liking. In his haste, he failed to notice how his uncle and the S.H.E.I.L.D. agents exchanged the briefest of looks before separating off for the time being.

Both Wolf and Snake tried to stop him, but only Fox was able to do so, and once he had he spoke to the two remaining Avengers, thought his eyes remained fixed on Alex, "I believe we can find our way from here, thanks."

Steve managed to speak up just before Tony could interrupt him with "Of course, please feel free to call if you need anything, JAVIS will be able to help with what you need."

"I am here to serve Sirs," Interjected the British voice from the ceiling.

Silence dangled between them, thick with tension as the other avengers regretfully left the unit behind and it remained there until they were certain that they wouldn't be coming beck. Even then it wasn't broken by words, but by the sound of Alex's crutches as he tried once more to race away.

"Alex!" Ben exclaimed as he reached towards the teen, who had stopped with his head bowed, hair shielding his face to prevent them from seeing his pain and heartache, "Alex, please, look at me. What happened back there? What was that?"

So very carefully Cub turned around, before raising his head just a fraction so that he could look at all of them watching at him. He looked at the confusion and the expectation that shone in each of their eyes, which just lead him to look away again, unable to face it, and unable to face them. Taking his time, he answered the other spy, "I just... I didn't want to be myself for once. I didn't want people to look at me and only see what is written in some stupid file and whatever rumours that have been spread around about the 'teenage legend'. For once I didn't want to be that person. Even if I am only able to hide for a day, then it will be more than worth it.

"I thought it may be easier if people didn't expect me to be more than I am; if people didn't judge me from just my name, or my legacy. Without that hanging over my head, I get to be a teenager for once."

With that he turned once more, limping towards the first room he was able to find, not noticing the pain and regret that was being etched on his new family's faces.

~Line Break~

Yassen spent the next hour sat in his room, just thinking over his nephew's words and what he could do to change them. The unexpected, faint breeze entered the room caused the male Russian to raise his head in acknowledgement as it quietly stopped just prior to a soft thump sounding behind him.

Even without turning around he knew that the breeze came when Natasha slid into the room and the thump from Clint dropping from the vents.

He turned only as the redhead came up to him, kissing his cheek whilst she muttered "_Father_" in Russian. As she stepped away, the archer stepped forwards to embrace him and call him father in his own tong.

The elder Russian took a moment to look between his two surrogate children, before addressing his daughter first, "I take it that Matt is treating you well, Natalya?" Her telling grin was all he needed to know about that. "Is there any point asking you if you've settled down with anyone?" He asked, turning to his son with an eyebrow arched.

Clint's grin was scarily similar to Natasha's, "Nope," He said putting extra emphasis on the p. "But, hey, at least the sex is still great."

The naturally Clint response made both Russians roll their eyes.

Somehow without any of them noticing, the mood became more sombre as Clint asked, "How's the kid really?"

Darkness spread across Yassen's face as he moved back to sit on his bed, with his children sat on each side of him. "Maybe one day he will recover beyond the physical injury, but that's still a long way off." He looked down for the slightest second before fixing his gaze on the wall. "He will eventually be in a shape that he is happy with, with that I am confident. But will only happen if MI6 manages to keep their hands off him, which is more than a little unlikely."

They were silent once more as the two younger assassins share a look before Natasha says what they are both thinking, "We will look out for and after him."

"As if he was our very own cousin," Clint finished off, joking just slightly, but the serious note of their vow still rang true in their shared words.

~Line Break~

Alex couldn't sleep.

He had tried every trick he could think of, but nothing worked. Not that that was something new. With a muffled grown the teenager grabbed his crutches and pulled himself out of bed, only to jump high into the air when a voice came from the ceiling, "Good morning, Mr. Rider. Or would you prefer to be called Mr. Daniels?" If any machine could sound disapproving, then this one was it.

The teen sighed, knowing that his alias wouldn't have lasted long, but he had silently hoped that it would have lasted longer than this. "Alex will do just fine, thank you JARVIS."

"Of course, young sir. The time is currently 3:32am. Is there anything I can do for you?"

By now Alex had dragged himself from the bedroom to the adjacent bathroom, trying hard to ignore the fact that he was talking to an AI in the ceiling while he relived himself. "There's nothing you can help me with," the teen answered as he washed his hands, "In fact, no, forget that. Where can I find something to eat?"

It didn't take long for the teenage spy to finish in the bathroom and to follow JARVIS's directions once he was dressed, finding himself in the unsurprisingly deserted communal kitchen. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to ask if there was any cereal stocked in the kitchen and if so where it was, because all he could see was half empty take out.

"If it's something healthy you are looking for, then you're better off looking in the cupboard above the toaster," a calm voice directed from behind him, catching the teen off guard to the point that he dropped the bottle of apple juice he was holding in favour of searching for a weapon. "Wow there! Calm down, I'm only trying to help. Though, honestly, wouldn't most teens would prefer a Poptart or something equally as sugary?"

After taking a few moments to compose himself, Alex twisted around to face the physicist smiling shyly, "sorry about the mess," he said motioning to the shards of glass that had miraculously managed to miss cutting him. Bruce gave him an equally shy smile to show that there was no problem. The spy nodded before frowning, "what's a poptart?"

"Wow," the older man said blinking. "And here to think that Tony says I've missed a lot." He looked back at the teen, "go sit down and I'll make you some, besides you shouldn't spend so much time up, you're still recovering and should be resting." The Avenger said while guiding him to one of the barstools, ignoring his protests before he went ahead with putting the pastries into the toaster and tidying up the glass shards.

Peaceful silence lay between them as they waited for their food, but once breakfast was on the table, the reserved scientist couldn't hold back anymore. "I get it, you know?" He said gaze locked on his food.

"What do you mean?" The blonde questioned innocently as he stared deep into the other hero's soul. And then, attempting to change the subject, he looked back down at the frosted pastry, "These are surprisingly nice."

Smiling in such a way that told Alex that his plan had been seen through, Bruce looked at him intently, noting the confusion and fear on his face, and the tension that hummed through his body doing more harm than good. Sighing, disheartened slightly by what he saw, he replied, "I know what it's like to want to be someone else, someone that everyone else doesn't know, or fear, or use. It's so good while it lasts, but that anonymity never lasts. When it does end –because it always does- you are acknowledged as yourself again and that hurts more than the expectation ever could have."

Wide eyes stared up at him in disbelief. "How do you know that?" He asked, leaning forward in his set, glaring at the other; feeling as though he was being played yet again.

Bruce just smiled, too used to being glared at and the hostility that comes with it that it didn't have any effect on him. "Because," he started, slowly, "I recognised the act from before as exactly what it was. An act. And it's an act that I have played many times."

"How? How could you tell?"

"Let me tell you a story of a scientist and a monster. You may understand things better this way that if you were to find it online."

**A/N: There you go, I'm sorry for the wait, but good news is I have the next few chapters planed out in rough and have an idea where I want to take this.**

**Bad news is I'm going away for three weeks in a few days and so will be unable to update or write in that time, so this fic shall be taking another unfortunate break I'm afraid.**

**Please don't shoot me.**

**Thank you to all of you who have read this, reviewed it, favourite and followed, you're all amazing.**

**Anyway I would kinda like a beta for this, just to make sure that it sticks (mostly) to cannon and to make sure that I don't make any mistakes anywhere.**

**If you're interested, pm me or email me (ingraderagriptide gmail . com without the spaces) to let me know.**

**Thanks :)**

**~Ingradera**


	3. The One Where They Do Their Own Thing

**Hey guys, I'm back, have a chapter to celebrate!**

Surprisingly, the next few hours passed quickly in a mix of comfortable silence and pleasant conversation. Both of which seemed to continue even after the other members of each team joined them in various states of consciousness.

Steve was the first to join them after his morning run and he was quick to put them both to work –even if it only entailed cracking eggs for Alex. He had the right idea though if it was to be judged by how everyone seemed to perk up at the prospect of a cooked breakfast. Each team dug into their food with such enthusiasm that left the teen to rolling his eyes, as he sunk into the silence.

Apparently not all of them appreciated the hush though, as Clint took a big gulp of orange juice to wash down his bacon, before speaking in the worse British accent he had ever heard, "so then folks, what's the plan?"

"Plan?" Ben asked, thinking he had missed something.

"Yeah!" Clint exclaimed in his normal voice once more, "of what we're doing today."

Alex nodded to himself, now understanding fully what was going on. With quick eyes he scanned the table, to see who was going to speak first. For a moment it appeared as though it was going to be Tony as he opened his mouth to start speaking, but Bruce unknowingly interrupted him, "well, I was hoping to give Alex a quick check up, just to make sure there is nothing I should be overly concerned about. That is, if that's okay?" He hedged uncertainly.

Not really paying attention, Alex nodded, missing how Bruce perking up, the look shared between the assassins, and how Snake and Natasha also volunteered to go along out of both curiosity and medical concern. What he didn't miss was how the billionaire seemed to deflate at the news and how his gaze moved from the physicist to his almost full plate. Another thing he didn't miss was how Bruce called him by his actual name and nobody blinked an eye at it.

_Now wasn't that interesting,_ Alex thought as he filled it away for later thought, while also being slightly put off. He really had hoped that his secret would last a little longer.

Tony's head shot back up then with a faux excitement in his eyes, "I'm going to make a shiny new suit that will be more amazing than anything that any of you could think up."

"Yes, Tony" Steve said in a tone that spoke of experience speaking those words. His attention then turned to the visitors, "How about you four, what's your plan?"

_Four_, Alex thought, looking up, _There's five of them._

Oblivious to the other spy's confusion, Ben decided to answer as he already knew what Wolf and Yassen were doing, "I thought I would have a look around New York, get a feel for the place, if you get where I'm coming from."

Always one to be helpful, Captain America quickly volunteered his services and they were just as quickly accepted.

Wolf went next, "I've got a meeting with Fury in a few hours, so I'm going to allow the day for it just in case it runs over."

"Ouch," Tony said with a wince that was quickly transformed into a grin, "I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, G.I. Joe."

Frowning, Steve enquired, "What's wrong with meetings with Fury?"

"Well were to start?" The genius cast his eyes to the ceiling, faking thought, "How about the fact that he is more boring that most college lectures. Am I right or what, Brucie?"

The scientist coughed, uncomfortable with being dragged into the building argument, but thankfully he was saved from answering as Wolf spoke up before he had the chance to think up a reply, "I've survived worse." Here his gaze turned to Yassen, "your presence has also been requested." His tone told the room that it was more of an order than a polite request. This didn't unsettle the Russian though as he just nodded to show he understood.

Clint just then realised that there was only one person who hadn't shared their plans after doing a quick count in his head, so he turned to Eagle and asked him what he had planned. The man in question just blinked before shrugging as he didn't really have anything. Grinning scarily, the arched zeroed his eagle eyes in on the solider, "Brilliant, I'm stealing you. I want to check out your aim and see who wins. America or Britain? It'll be fun!" That made both of them grin like it was Christmas morning, while various members of their teams wondered what they had gotten themselves in for.

"Wait," Steve said interrupting their mad ramblings, where did Miss. Romanoff go?"

Tony grinned at his still formal manner, ever after he had been reminded multiple times that her name was Natasha, The rest of the table looked confused, except from Clint and Yassen, who just smiled and Alex, who was just looking at one of the many doorways that lead into the room.

~*-*~Line Break~*-*~

Curses could be heard beneath the Bentley R-Type ever over Black Sabbath turned up deafeningly high. A final curse sounded before Tony appeared from beneath the car, covered in oil and with a small part in his hand.

As he stalked across to his work bench words tumbled uncontrollably from his mouth, "Damn Banner wanting to spend more time with the kid instead of me. I don't need him anyway; I can work just as well without him. Better even! Why do I need his help, or brain power? SHIT!" He swore as the hammer missed his work and hit him instead. "Traitor," he muttered to it darkly.

Deciding that he was severely decaffeinated for the situation he made his way over to his small kitchen set up, and started the machine even as JARVIS suggested that 'it may be more beneficial if [he] was to eat something instead.'

Raising the one fingered salute, Tony took the mug and slid before one of his many StarkTablets to try and access the footage from the physical the spy was at that time undergoing. However JARVIS was quick to stop the search, saying "that is data that only the occupants of the room shall have access to, sir. This is for Mr. Rider's protection."

"Oh, I see how it is. You prefer him over me as well, don't you?"

"If that is what you believe then, sir."

"Fine! Be that way!" Tony snapped, pouting again. "Bring up all the information we have on Alex Rider."

~*-*~Line Break~*-*~

"Gentlemen," Fury greeted as the solider and the assassin walked into his office, "Be seated." He instructed and though both men did so, he saw the slight hesitation before the Russian did so. "Let's get down to business then.

"The Avengers are currently off of active duty due to unforeseen yet avoidable events during their last mission. Agent Barton managed to face a subject in hand-to-hand combat instead of attacking from a distance, which is where he excels. Due to this he obtained a nasty wound to his upper right arm, which became infected and as such is seriously hindering his performance.

"Doctor Banner was caught in an explosion, as he was in an area which he shouldn't have been. The force of the blast knocked him out and as such caused him to transform back. However, there was a second blast shortly after and much closer. Luckily he was too far gone for the Hulk to make another appearance, though that also means that until he does, Dr. Banner shall heal at his normal, slightly accelerated rate. He is refusing to willing change even in a safe, controlled environment due to the fact he believes that he Hulk shall be more protective and thus more dangerous to anyone around him at the time."

"Sir," Wolf interrupted politely, "I mean no disrespect, but why are you sharing this information with us?"

Fury turned his singular eye so that he was completely focusing on the Hispanic man, inspecting him properly. Generally, he disliked it when people interrupted him, but he was able to respect them when the interruption was for a valid reason, or a needed question. That made him more confident in his decision to trust these strangers. Even if the other one did unnerved him a little bit. "I'm telling you this because I'm going to offer you a choice.

"When the Avengers are needed back on active duty, your team may join them for a trial period. That way even though you've been sent out here for rest and protection, you can still do some good.

"What do you say?"

His two guests shared a brief look before looking back at him and unsurprisingly it was the younger who answered him, "We shall need to discuss it with our team first if that is acceptable, sir?"

"I will allow that. Now onto the next order of business: SCORPIA."

~*-*~Line Break~*-*~

Fox was just preparing to leave to look around the city where there was a knock on his door. When he turned around he saw Steve leaning against his doorjamb, "Hey," he greeted with a friendly smile.

"Hi," Steve replied with his own smile, "I was wondering if you would like to go for a run, it's my favourite way to see the sights."

Ben raked his eyes over the super solider, "Is that really fair? I mean you're the epitome of physical perfection, and I'm seriously out of practice." He grinned, "Seems a tad unfair."

The American's smile stayed in place, showing he took no offence in the comment, "Okay, I'll give you that. Walking then?" At his confirmation he turned so that his body was facing out the door, while he was still looking back in, "Are you ready to go, or do you want me to wait by the lift for you?"

"Nope, I'm ready when you are."

"Good. Follow me then."

For near half an hour they managed to walk at ease together in silence, taking in all there was to see around them. They watched how people barged their way through the streets without a care for common decency or thought for the people around them, and yet the majority of people took no offence in their actions as they just saw it as the norm. They saw how the sun bounced off the monsters of glass and metal that grew up to impossible heights.

It was almost too much to take in.

The sightseeing continued, but their silence fell away as Steve was unable to keep his curiosity at bay any longer, "How does a kid like Alex get dragged into this world? It doesn't appear as though he joined willingly, but if for some reason he did, who in their right mind would allow a child to put themselves at such risk?"

Fox released a breath which sounded more like a sigh. "That ain't a half loaded question you're asking there. There is a lot of the story that I don't know, a lot I am not allowed to know, a lot you aren't allowed to know, and ton you honestly don't want to know. But more importantly that that there is so much more that I would never tell you without the kids express permission first. He wouldn't have any problem with me saying it, yes he may be a bit upset, but he wouldn't understand that he has the deciding choice at the end of the day."

"I can understand that. All I really want to know -what I'm worried about- is if there is anything we need to avoid saying or doing when he's around?" Steve asked while still watching the activity around him. As much as he wanted to know exactly what that boy had gone through, he wanted the teen to willingly share that information with them. But when it came down to triggers that was something they needed to know so they could make things easier for him.

Fox could respect where his curiosity and also his restraint, so he began to tell as much as he felt comfortable with and what he was allowed. "Don't bring up Blunt, or Jones, -the leaders of MI6- Ash, his uncle: Ian, or his parents, because they were the ones that made it so that he was working for MI6. Some had less of an effect than others, but they all were the cause in some way. Unless it is completely unavoidable, don't mention the name Julius, Cairo: Egypt, or SCORPIA, they are to him what HYDRA is to you. You've seen his file?" He waited until he received a nod of conformation, before he continued, "Then never mention Jack or Sabina to him." He took a moment to think if that was all, "The rest shouldn't come up as it's rather obscure and if it does we'll handle it."

"What is it with spies and destroying innocent lives?"

"Hey! I'm a spy." Ben jokingly said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Steve cast him a sidelong look and a smile, "Okay: the higher ups."

"That I can agree with," The spy relented, nodding along, "Thought I must also say that they have a very annoying habit of keeping vital information to themselves."

~*-*~Line Break~*-*~

Down in the shooting range, the two sharp shooters from each team both hand their preferred weapon at hand, as they attempted to out shoot each other. At first they had started shooting stationary targets, but when that proved not to be a challenge, they increased the distance, which didn't really change anything. Next they decided to make them move, before choosing instead to show off their accuracy, not their aim, so they began to start shooting pictures into the targets.

Through each test they proved to be pretty well matched and so they agreed that they would fire a weapon that they were weakest at. When they turned back to one another, weapons in hand, Clint laughed at the fact that they had both chosen throwing knives. "Nice choice," he said grinning, "And, if I'm being honest, you're not a half bad shot."

"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself. But if it's a good shot you are after, then you should see Cub shoot, he never misses," Eagle grudgingly admitted.

"He's that good?" Clint asked, not believing him.

"On a normal bulls eye cut out he's so perfect it's scary. He can almost do it with his eyes closed. It was even scarier what with the fact we first saw him shoot like that he was fourteen." He stopped to think about it for a moment. "But if you ask him to shoot at a human cut out his accuracy falls down to what you would expect from a teenager, if not worse."

"That's weird," Clint said, confusion clear on his face, "How does a kid- No. You know what? I don't want to know. Wanna shoot first?"

Just like that the subject was dropped, but it wasn't forgotten as it stayed playing though Clint's minds and he couldn't help but think of Natasha.

They spent hours together in that room, testing their skills against each other, trying out a variety of weapons and even after a while they tried each other's too. Despite the fact they were fairly well matched, the archer still managed to out shoot the solider most of the time. At some point during that day the room became a safe place and due to such the S.H.E.I.L.D. agent allowed his shields to drop more than he normally would. By doing so he allowed Eagle to see the strain he was putting on his arm and after another short while, when the loud noise started to get to him, he removed his hearing aids.

Not once did the Brit comment on it and Clint was glad that he had made the right choice.

~*-*~Line Break~*-*~

Unlink Clint, Alex felt himself raising his walls higher as the rooms other occupants tried to get his shirt off to check the scarring beneath it. He didn't want anyone to see that much of his damaged body.

"Alex," Natasha started in a placating manner, "none of us are strangers to nudity, or even partial nudity and besides, you have nothing that we haven't seen before. We're not going to judge you."

Just as the teen was slowly reaching for the hem of his t-shirt, JARVIS' voice sounded around the room, "Sirs, Miss, I'm sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Stark is trying to obtain the footage from this room. I am currently blocking him and I shall only allow him access with your consent, Mr. Rider."

"Thank you, JARVIS," Alex answered shocked that the AI would listen to him over his creator. It just didn't make sense to him. It took his a few moments to shake himself out of it before he carefully started to pull his shirt off, oblivious to Bruce's and Natasha's shock.

There were more scars than could be counted crossing over the teen's chest and they could only imagine that his back would put the front to shame, especially seeing as they could just see the end of a brand. No child should have to carry such scars. It was barbaric, inhumane.

Trying so hard to hide his disgust, Bruce stepped forward and with quick, professional movements he inspected each and every mark, anger growing as he uncovered a new one. The image before him was making him feel physically sick. After checking his front and back he moved onto the bones that he knew had been damaged or broken and with careful fingers he tested how far along each one was in the healing process. Next he checked over his general health and was surprised at how good it was, before he reminded himself that this was no normal teenager.

Finally he was done and after he had quickly jotted down a few note he turned back to Alex, facing him full on. "So, the good news is that everything appears to be healing up nicely and your ribs should be healed up nicely in about a week. Bad news is you'll still be on the crutches for a few more."

"May I?" Snake asked as he stepped closer, motioning towards Alex, asking both him and Bruce. Once he received the permission he was looking for he began his own evaluation of Alex and was rather impressed that his own findings lined up so well with what the Avenger had found. "I've got nothing to add," his hand shifted up a bit on the teens back to a thick, raised scar going around his shoulder blade. "I haven't seen this one before. Where did it come from?"

With his hand still on Cubs back he felt how he tensed up and how he entirely shut down. Nobody really knew how to respond to that, it completely through them off. Natasha's desperate, sharp eyes took in the other two, searching for a solution. She almost gave in, but before she could she noticed a scar peeking out the collar of the solider' top, reminding her that they all had scars.

"Why don't we all choose one of our scars and tell the story behind it?" She suggested, while keeping a close eye on everyone. Because of that she noticed how Snake seemed to agree with her idea, but she also saw how Bruce tensed to almost the same amount as Alex, which threw her slightly off balance.

Without warning, Alex stood, grabbed his crutches and hobbled from the room, leaving everyone staring after him.

They eyes turned back to the assassin once the door had closed once more. "It works with Clint," was all she said before she too slipped out of the room.

~*-*~Line Break~*-*~

Once more both teams were sat around the communal dining table for another meal, though unlike the meaningless chatter of the last meal, this time they were discussing the proposal that Fury had put forth.

Tony had immediately scoffed at the idea, "he just offered you that without any conditions?"

"Oh, there will be conditions," Cub mumbled not really expecting anyone to hear it, but unfortunately everyone heard and was paying complete attention to him, prompting him to expand on his words. "If you agree, even thought you'll get to do what you want and do what you enjoy, you'll be at his beck and call. He will see how good you are, evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, and even when we go home, if he thinks he could use you, then he will, regardless of whether you want to or not. We all have something that can be used to pressure us into doing something we rather wouldn't."

An uncomfortable silence hung over them like a dark cloud with those equally gloomy words. Alex's attention fell back to the food that he was moving aimlessly around his plate.

With a cough Steve looked at Wolf, "This is something that you need to decide on together. But just so you know we shall agree with and support whatever you choose."

"Okay," Tony said quickly before anyone else could get a word in, "Before this has a chance to turn depressing again, I vote that we all move into the TV room and play 20 questions. It'll give us all a chance to get to know one another and we get to go back to our childhood roots." His smile seemed to be just a bit too innocent for anybody's liking and that only spoke of trouble.

**A/N: So what do you thing?**

**Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this so far, virtual cookies to you all!**

**See you next Thursday**

**~Ingradera**


	4. The One Where They Act Like Teenagers

"So," Tony started once everyone had been ushered into the living room and into seats. They were arranged so that they were sat in a semicircle that opened up for the TV. Alex, Ben and Yassen were sharing the sofa directly across from the television, and on their right sat Clint and Natasha sharing a love seat, Tony in an arm chair with some amber liquid in a crystal glass, and with Bruce leaning uncertainly back against his legs. On their other side, Eagle and Snake were seated on a two man sofa, while Steve and Wolf had brought through chairs from the kitchen to sit themselves on.

"Now that we're all comfortable and ready we can start. Today we're only asking two questions each as there will be a Hobbit marathon after -and yes attendance is compulsory- so innocent questions first and then more personal after. Okay?" He didn't give anyone a chance to reply before hurrying along. "Good! So I'll go first then Bruce, and then you'll go one after another until Wolf-Man and then I shall also answer the question. After that Bruce will ask and so on and so forth.

Okay, so I'm first, so we'll start it simple: if you could be any animal, what would it be? Go!"

His rapid shift from instructions to question caught them off guard and each of them stumble for a moment as they try to process what they are doing, while also thinking up an answer. Silently Banner cursed the fact he had decided to sit next to Tony, and thus he would have to answer first.

Hesitantly he raised his eyes from the floor and saw that mostly everyone was looking at him, waiting for his response. Nervous as to how much people would be reading into the answers, he coughed before saying, "An alley cat."

Natasha didn't have the same problem as she answered straight off the bat, "Panther."

"Sloth," was Clint's response and when he received some weird looks for it he just shrugged, "They just get to laze around all day being all chill."

The assassin by his side scoffed at that, "You would hate the inactivity, you'd get bored."

Considering the thought the archer playfully pouted, "Fine, you're right, but that doesn't mean that I have to change my answer."

Laughter echoed softly around the room, before they turned to face Yassen, slightly scared to hear what his answer would be, but he just deadpanned his answer, "Africanized Honey Bee."

The Brits were rather confused due to the fact that they hadn't encounter them and had no knowledge of then, but Cub was able to sum most of it up with a quite comment of, "Of course you would want to be one of the most dangerous animals on earth."

"Shit" Bruce breathed to the shock of the group, because even his own team members hadn't heard him swear more than a handful of times and that was only at the most stressful moments.

Tony took hold of the other genius' shoulders and pulled him back so he was leaning back against the chair, while he leaned forward so he could see his face. "Did you just swear, Brucie?"

Shyly smiling up at the other man the mutant teased, "Don't act all that surprised."

Stark just laughed, ruffled his already dishevelled locks, before turning to the kid, "What would your answer be?"

He took a second to think about it before saying, "Raven." Nobody else had to explain their choices, yet he thought that he may be asked to, so he quickly turned to Ben, "What would you chose?"

The spy smiled down at him, seeing through what he was asking, "A wolf."

Sensing what was going on, Steve to answered quickly, "Maybe some sort of dog."

Catching Clint's eyes, Eagle grinned before saying in a sing-song voice, "Blob fish. They are just so funny looking."

"Hey, you already have something in common." Snake said grinning at his friend. Before the sharpshooter could respond he gave his own answer, "Pegasus." At their looks he smiled, saying "What? You never said it had to be something that exists."

Wolf rolled his eyes, and thought for what had to be the millionth time, why did he have to have a unit that were less than sane. Looking up again he noticed that the others were waiting for him to answer, so he just bluntly said, "Dolphin," Before looking towards Tony, invited him to go next.

Glad that he was finally able to answer, Tony blurted his answer out, "Golden Lion Tamarin."

The game went on like that, with each person stumbling at some point over either their answer or as they were thinking of something they could ask, without it sounding offensive or as though they were digging for too much information. It seemed to go rather well until it came to the more person questions, where Tony asked: "What place would you never want to return to?"

From the start nobody wanted to answer it, and so Tony tried to think of something that wouldn't be as triggering. Both Ben and Yassen had their eyes on Cub, though they were trying to be subtle while doing so. They could feel how tense he had become, even during some of the more innocent questions.

Steve caught on quickly and tried his best to direct the topic of conversation to something different, something that would be more comfortable for all parties. "Tony," He started, getting his attention, "What were you saying about these Hobbit movies I apparently need to watch."

Glaring at him, the billionaire pouted again, which should have looked ridiculous on his adult face, and yet it seemed to fit strangely well. That was just plain weird. "That was no subtle, at all, Rogers." Despite his words, he still instructed JARVIS to load up the first one.

Even as he was complaining, he still caught the super solder's eyes before pointing his towards the teenage, who was fully engaged in the film. Though many people thought he was oblivious to how humans interacted, he was able to notice when somebody was feeling uncomfortable.

Surprisingly, he was able to stay quite during the movie, and even when one member, or another seemed surprised, or confused, he didn't once tease them because of it. It wasn't until the end of the film that he spoke at all, and even then it wasn't to mock, it was just to feed his curiosity.

Looking between the two Russians he asked, "Do you two know each other? You seem far too familiar for you to have just met."

What he expected was an answer, or even for them to twist the situation back on him. What he wasn't expecting was for Clint to start laughing.

He worked himself into near hysterics, even when Natasha hit him, and Yassen began to glare. And yet, Tony noticed that the glare wasn't one you would do to scare somebody off, but more of one you would send the way of a misbehaving child.

Wasn't that interesting?

The elder assassin sighed; knowing that it would probably be best to answer the questions truthfully, or else he would just keep digging and asking. Glancing at the agents so they knew what he was going to do, he turned back to the one who asked. "Shouldn't you be asking if the three of us know each other?"

Tony frowned for a second before realising that Natasha and Clint were like each other's shadow, so naturally they would know the same people. He nodded along with the thought and just as everyone seemed to be waiting for it he rephrased his question, "Okay so how do you three know each other?"

Once again, it was Clint who answered him straight away, thought this time he was blunter with his answer, "He's our father."

"Surrogate father," Natasha added her eyes fixed on Alex, trying to read his response.

Yet he didn't have any outward response. She took that as he had already been informed of it, due to his own closeness to Yassen. But the truth was that he hadn't known, he had thought that there was something between them, but he couldn't really put his finger on what it was. Instead he had managed to stop his surprise from showing openly and made a note to bring it up later.

Nobody else had anything they could say to that either, so the subject was dropped and the next movie was put on. Silence fell once more as the group's focus was completely devoted to the screen and the events unfolding upon it. They found themselves lost in the adventure and the hope that their favourite characters would make it back home.

Despite this focus, some people were just too tired to make it to the end of the movie. Bruce was the first of which. Not even half way into the film, his head fell onto Tony's lap as his arms snaked around the leg, hugging it close. Soft snores accompanied the rest of the movie, adding to the soundtrack. Though it may have been seen as being insulting, or annoying, both teams were grateful that he had slept, because they then knew that they trusted him enough to be in such a vulnerable state around them.

Eagle followed him an hour later. When he felt his eyes begin to grow heavy, his shifted so that he would be in a more comfortable position, before he to fell asleep, though he was resting on Snakes shoulder.

"Thanks, Eagle," he muttered softly down at the sleeping man.

Sharp eyes watched as both men slept, and noticed how relaxed both of them appeared, even when surrounded by strangers. Alex could feel how his body was pressing him to sleep, and yet he still fought it. He didn't feel safe to allow his shields to fall so drastically around these people, and he didn't trust them not to hurt him.

Through his inner turmoil, he didn't notice how the assassin and the spy shared a look over his head, as they too had noticed how tired he was becoming. With careful movements, -so they wouldn't startle to youth- they began to move him between them, so that his head was cradled in Ben's lap, while his feet and injured leg were being held by Yassen. Even then he didn't allow himself to fall into the slumber he needed to heal, not until the other spy leaned forward and whispered in his eyes, "You're safe here, we'll protect you."

Seeing no reason not to trust him, he allowed sleep to take over his mind, letting him dream. But those dreams quickly became nightmares. Nightmares that no one else noticed.

The remaining members of each team still awake smiled down at the child, happy that he could trust if not them, then the men cradling him between them. They looked at him and saw a child who was relaxed and comfortable, lost in a world of happy dreams.

That is what they saw and so that is what they believed.

Time passed until the second movie was also finished, by which point most wanted to fall into their own beds, but at the same time, they were despite to find out how it ended. A hushed debate began over whether they would finish it then, or if they would wait until tomorrow. Most were in favour for doing it tomorrow, because not only would they be more likely to take more in from it, but also those who were asleep wouldn't miss the best one yet.

Through the discussion, Ben looks at Yassen and whisper, "I need to go to the toilet."

"Okay," the Russian responded, while signalling for Natasha to come over. "Hold his head, child. When Ben steps out, take his place and make little Alex comfortable, okay?"

Natasha nodded and with quick, sure movements, they did what was asked of them, so Ben could slip silently out of the room. Meer minutes later he returned and without a thought he took Natasha's old seat next to Clint, watching how the younger Russian was delicately running her fingers through the teen's locks. She stopped quickly though, as she felt how he tensed. Between her and Yassen they managed to get the room mostly clear before Alex started to scream.

Even through the others were clear from the room, they could still hear the heartbreaking cries of terror, which hit more deeply as they knew they came from Alex. Children shouldn't make noises like that. They shouldn't even know how.

Without warning, the teen shot up, allowing Natasha to slip out from beneath him so she could stand in the corner with Clint, silently watching and there if she would be needed. Yassen carefully moved the panicking teen so that he was being carefully held in his lap, while Bruce crouched in front of him, hands on each knee to anchor him. Ben was knelt by his side, one hand resting on his arm, while the other was above his heart.

"Alex. Cub." He said, alternating names until he got his attention. "Slow your breathing, you're okay here, nobody is going to hurt you. You are safe."

Wide eyes just looked at him and when he spoke, he spoke in Russian, not English. "_They will find me. They will always find me. I can't let you get hurt. They will hurt everybody to get to me. I can't let them. I can't lose anybody else._"

To everybody's surprise it was Bruce that answered him, "We can take care of ourselves, Alex; we have before. We are not going to let anybody hurt you or get you I promise. You understand?"

It broke the scientist's heart to see the unshed tears in the teenager's eyes, and he made a silent promise to himself that he would protect him from anything that came his way.

**A/N: There you go. I hope you enjoyed that I apologise for the delay, I haven't been in the house all that much this week and haven't been able to write. Hopefully I will be on time next week, so fingers crossed!**

**Thank you for all the kind words and support, I love you guys!**

**~Ingradera**


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